Description
Stalin was born in Gori, now a city in present-day Georgia, and spent his childhood there before traveling to Tbilisi to attend school on a scholarship. He was, however, expelled from the Georgian Orthodox Tiflis Spiritual Seminary after poor performance on his exams, and it is thought that during this time he first joined the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, a Marxist group. His early political career was spent between Tbilisi, Baku, St. Petersburg, and several exiles in Siberia (where he often escaped) as he rose through the ranks of the party. Finally, returning from his final exile in a small northern fishing village near the Arctic Circle in 1917, he took part in the October Revolution that culminated in the creation and eventually his leadership of the USSR.
Source
"Stalin, Joseph." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. (c) 1993-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Ekaterina Shubnaya, "Joseph Stalin." <http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/leaders/joseph-stalin/>
“Statue of Limitations Runs Out for Keeping Stalin Off His Pedestal.” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2013, sec. Page One. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304713704579091820237130970.